TALKS PROGRAMME
AUGUST - OCTOBER 2019
August 7th Bill Horner Archaeological Reconnaissance in Devon
Bill Horner is the Devon County Historic Environment Manager and County Archaeologist.
Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AI&M) methodology has been developed by English Heritage (now Historic England) for identifying, mapping and recording archaeological sites and landscapes from aerial photographs and other airborne remote sensed data such as lidar. Valuable potential historic environment information is contained within aerial photographs for periods from the Neolithic period to the Cold War. It can be seen above the ground as earthworks or structures and buried remains can be revealed as cropmarks or soilmarks.
This can be used in enhancing our understanding of past land use through identification and analysis of previously unrecorded archaeological landscapes and improving the information held for monuments already recorded on the Historic Environment Record, which can then be used by Devon County Council Historic Environment team for research and management of change in the historic environment.
More information and links to projects in Devon using this technology can be seen on the Devon County Council website at :
https://www.devon.gov.uk/historicenvironment/projects/national-mapping-project/
___________________________________________________________________
August 14th Dr Darren Schreiber Your Brain is built for Politics
Dr. Darren Schreiber’s research examines the link between our political attitudes and what goes on inside our brains. Converging lines of evidence suggest negotiating increasingly complex and shifting coalitions drove the human brain to evolve a set of mechanisms that modern humans now engage when they participate in national politics. The product is a new view of human nature. Rather than a reductionist or deterministic argument, he contends the shifting coalitions of human society require that we are hardwired to not be hardwired.
He has pioneered the subfield of neuropolitics with the use of functional brain imaging (fMRI) to investigate patterns that occur in the brain when people make decisions.
Darren was awarded his doctorate in Political Science at UCLA, has worked at universities in California, Pennsylvania, Budapest and Exeter, written many books and articles, and has participated in radio and television programmes.
Darren attributes his achievements to his curious nature and claims that as a child, every encyclopedia volume at home made its way to his bedroom. He challenges himself to learn one new skill a year – most recently rock climbing, Hungarian and scuba diving.
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August 21st No Meeting
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August 28th No Meeting
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September 4th Dr Peter Brinsden Admiral Lord Nelson, Hero...and Hypochondriac?
Nelson led the English fleets to victories at the battles of the Nile and Copenhagen. He is held by most analysts and historians to be a prime example of the archetypal leader of men. During his many campaigns and battles, Nelson suffered from several illnesses and wounds, which led some of his contemporaries to believe he was a hypochondriac.
In this lecture, Nelson’s campaigns and the wounds he suffered are reviewed with conclusions drawn on his life, leadership and whether or not he was a hypochondriac.
Peter Brinsden served in the Royal Navy for 16 years, retiring as Surgeon Commander in 1982, and has been an active member of the Nelson Society, including a period as Vice-Chairman.
After his naval career Peter has had a distinguished medical career, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 1989. He was Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic from 1989 and a Consultant Medical Director from 2006. He had Honorary and Visiting Professorships in China, where he was born, has published many articles and served as President of the British Fertility Society.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 11th Alan Rosevear Travel in Exeter before the Train
This talk explores the evidence for how people travelled by road up until the beginning of the railway era. Local examples from around Exeter will be used to illustrate the evolution of passenger transport and its relationship to improvements in roads and social changes over the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Alan is a retired research chemist with a lifetime's interest in the social and economic history of road transport. He studied the turnpike roads of the Thames Valley and was a founder member of The Milestone Society. He is currently involved in a research project digitally mapping England’s roads from 1680 to 1911.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 18th Mick Harrison Policing in Devon and Exeter
Retired Police Officer
Mick Harrison has worked more than 40 years in UK Policing. He has a wealth of policing experience. Most of that time was spent as a Police Officer in the Metropolitan Police. In 2000 he was part of the project team that created the largest and most modern police control room complex in the UK. He was working in London in 2005 when three bombs went off on London Underground and a fourth exploded on a bus and then the Police Command and Control complex came into it's own. He helped with planning for the policing of the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2016, after working as an IT Project Manager for Kent Police, he left the South East in order to relocate to Devon. Mick now works part-time for the Devon and Cornwall Police and Cime Commissioner's (PCC's) Office. The PCC oversees the Governance of Policing in Devon and Cornwall. He is here to give us an overview of the present Policing situation in Devon and Cornwall, answer your questions and take your views back to the PCC's Office.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 25th Karen Deveraj The Work of the Citizens Advice Bureau
Operations Manager, CAB, Exeter
Citizens Advice Exeter offers free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. Every local Citizens Advice is a registered charity reliant on volunteers. We help solve client’s problems which are central to their lives, including debt and consumer issues, benefits, housing, legal matters, employment, and immigration.
Citizens Advice Exeter has been at work supporting the residents of Exeter for 70 years. We have over 100 volunteers who help clients resolve a range of issues. Clients are able to access a range of self-help information and resources and free, supported internet and telephone access, from our office in Dix’s Field, every weekday. Our services are also accessible via telephone and digital channels. Advice is also available every day, via the national Citizens Advice website (www.citizensadvice.org.uk) where clients can access advice via web chat and an extensive range of open-access self-help resources covering all advice needs.
The national Citizens Advice service is truly unique, powered by nearly 30,000 staff and volunteers who help millions of people find a way forward. Whether dealing with a single issue or a complex set of problems that require more specialist support, this year we provided advice, support or information to 2.6 million people per year.
Karen has been working at Citizens Advice Exeter for over 20 years. She started as a volunteer adviser but then progressed on to a paid role as a supervisor, then to a team leader and now Operations Manager. She has worked in all sorts of roles, with a range of teams and seen many and varied issues!
_______________________________________________________________________
October 2nd Professor Sir Steve Smith The Role of the University in the Region
Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter
Professor Sir Steve Smith has been Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter since October 2002 and has overseen an exceptional growth in the University, with student numbers rising from 13,500 in 2005 to over 23,000 in 2018, and with students coming from more than 130 different countries. At the same time he has played a leading role in establishing and supporting cutting-edge research centres such as the Living Systems Institute and world-renowned research into areas such as diabetes, mood disorders, and technologies to deal with climate change.
He was previously Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Professor of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as well as Head of the Department of International Politics, and Director of the Centre for Public Choice Studies at the University of East Anglia.
Sir Steve is a graduate of the University of Southampton and holds a BSc in Politics and International Studies, an MSc in International Studies and a PhD in International Relations.
He has written or edited 17 books, published well over 100 academic papers and has given over 170 academic presentations in 22 countries. From June 2007 until May 2010, he led for higher education on the Prime Minister’s National Council of Excellence in Education, which provided advice to Government about strategy and measures to achieve world-class education performance for all children and young people. He was also a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research's Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Sir Steve was knighted in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to higher education locally and nationally. In 2019, Sir Steve was made a Freeman of the City of Exeter for his extraordinary contribution to Exeter and the local community.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 9th Sue Knox General Lawrence and His Tower
General Stringer Lawrence became known as the “Father of the Indian Army”. While in India, he made friends with Robert Palk. He spent much of his retirement at Haldon House, home of the Palk family, and in 1788 Palk built the Haldon Belvedere in memory of his friend.
Sue is a retired doctor having spent most of her career working at the RD&E.
In retirement she became a Red Coat Guide for the City of Exeter for 14 years.
Sue is a Trustee of the Stringer Lawrence Memorial Trust which owns the Haldon Belvedere.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 16th John Davidson Vesuvius: Present, past and future. The anatomy of an active volcano.
Vesuvius is probably best known for the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it has erupted over 50 times since AD79. Two million people live in the immediate vicinity, in the shadow of this active and potentially dangerous volcano. This talk will look at why there are active volcanoes around the Bay of Naples today, and the effects of historic volcanic events, before considering the threat of future eruptions. The talk will conclude by looking at the various strategies that are being developed to protect residents, tourists and property from volcanic hazards in the Naples region.
John Davidson is an active geographer and a member of the Exeter Forum. He taught geography, geology and world development at Exeter School until 2018, and was a member of the school’s senior management team. John has travelled extensively studying physical geography and writing articles on landscapes and natural hazards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Geographical Association.
______________________________________________________________________
October 23rd David Oates Life Round the Green: A Cambridgeshire Village in the 1890s
David's talk uses a selection from the Oates Collection of contemporary photographs of his home village of Histon, near Cambridge, to re-create the life, people and activities at its heart during the period 1870 to 1920. This talk was a special address given as part of the village Feast Week celebrations in July 2018 for the Histon and Impington Archaeology Group which David founded in 2016 and of which he is President.
After a working life spent lecturing in Mathematics at the University of Exeter, David now follows a range of other interests and is in demand as a speaker on topics including Heraldry, Stamps, Archaeology, Local History and the Polish city of Gdańsk. He is a regular speaker at the Exeter Forum and has been Chairman of the Forum since May 2018.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 30th Rev Andrew Johnson A History of Coloured Glass and How it is Made
Andrew is an Associate Member of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. He has been working in the medium for over forty years, having been trained at Bideford & Swansea art schools, specialising in Architectural Stained Glass.
Andrew set up an independent stained glass studio in 1980, and has worked on Cathedrals, Minsters, parish churches and country houses. Although a large part of his work can be seen in ecclesiastic buildings, he also enjoys working in secular situations, including private houses.
Andrew is an ordained self supporting Priest, and works on the principles laid down by St. Benedict, that to work with your hands is to praise God at all times.
Andrew is committed to seeing that glass is cared for, the original purpose of the glass being conserved and renewed, to be passed on to future generations to enjoy.
______________________________________________________________________
Bill Horner is the Devon County Historic Environment Manager and County Archaeologist.
Aerial Investigation and Mapping (AI&M) methodology has been developed by English Heritage (now Historic England) for identifying, mapping and recording archaeological sites and landscapes from aerial photographs and other airborne remote sensed data such as lidar. Valuable potential historic environment information is contained within aerial photographs for periods from the Neolithic period to the Cold War. It can be seen above the ground as earthworks or structures and buried remains can be revealed as cropmarks or soilmarks.
This can be used in enhancing our understanding of past land use through identification and analysis of previously unrecorded archaeological landscapes and improving the information held for monuments already recorded on the Historic Environment Record, which can then be used by Devon County Council Historic Environment team for research and management of change in the historic environment.
More information and links to projects in Devon using this technology can be seen on the Devon County Council website at :
https://www.devon.gov.uk/historicenvironment/projects/national-mapping-project/
___________________________________________________________________
August 14th Dr Darren Schreiber Your Brain is built for Politics
Dr. Darren Schreiber’s research examines the link between our political attitudes and what goes on inside our brains. Converging lines of evidence suggest negotiating increasingly complex and shifting coalitions drove the human brain to evolve a set of mechanisms that modern humans now engage when they participate in national politics. The product is a new view of human nature. Rather than a reductionist or deterministic argument, he contends the shifting coalitions of human society require that we are hardwired to not be hardwired.
He has pioneered the subfield of neuropolitics with the use of functional brain imaging (fMRI) to investigate patterns that occur in the brain when people make decisions.
Darren was awarded his doctorate in Political Science at UCLA, has worked at universities in California, Pennsylvania, Budapest and Exeter, written many books and articles, and has participated in radio and television programmes.
Darren attributes his achievements to his curious nature and claims that as a child, every encyclopedia volume at home made its way to his bedroom. He challenges himself to learn one new skill a year – most recently rock climbing, Hungarian and scuba diving.
_______________________________________________________________________
August 21st No Meeting
_______________________________________________________________________
August 28th No Meeting
_______________________________________________________________________
September 4th Dr Peter Brinsden Admiral Lord Nelson, Hero...and Hypochondriac?
Nelson led the English fleets to victories at the battles of the Nile and Copenhagen. He is held by most analysts and historians to be a prime example of the archetypal leader of men. During his many campaigns and battles, Nelson suffered from several illnesses and wounds, which led some of his contemporaries to believe he was a hypochondriac.
In this lecture, Nelson’s campaigns and the wounds he suffered are reviewed with conclusions drawn on his life, leadership and whether or not he was a hypochondriac.
Peter Brinsden served in the Royal Navy for 16 years, retiring as Surgeon Commander in 1982, and has been an active member of the Nelson Society, including a period as Vice-Chairman.
After his naval career Peter has had a distinguished medical career, becoming a Fellow of the Royal College of Obstetricians & Gynaecologists in 1989. He was Medical Director of Bourn Hall Clinic from 1989 and a Consultant Medical Director from 2006. He had Honorary and Visiting Professorships in China, where he was born, has published many articles and served as President of the British Fertility Society.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 11th Alan Rosevear Travel in Exeter before the Train
This talk explores the evidence for how people travelled by road up until the beginning of the railway era. Local examples from around Exeter will be used to illustrate the evolution of passenger transport and its relationship to improvements in roads and social changes over the 18th and early 19th centuries.
Alan is a retired research chemist with a lifetime's interest in the social and economic history of road transport. He studied the turnpike roads of the Thames Valley and was a founder member of The Milestone Society. He is currently involved in a research project digitally mapping England’s roads from 1680 to 1911.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 18th Mick Harrison Policing in Devon and Exeter
Retired Police Officer
Mick Harrison has worked more than 40 years in UK Policing. He has a wealth of policing experience. Most of that time was spent as a Police Officer in the Metropolitan Police. In 2000 he was part of the project team that created the largest and most modern police control room complex in the UK. He was working in London in 2005 when three bombs went off on London Underground and a fourth exploded on a bus and then the Police Command and Control complex came into it's own. He helped with planning for the policing of the London 2012 Olympics.
In 2016, after working as an IT Project Manager for Kent Police, he left the South East in order to relocate to Devon. Mick now works part-time for the Devon and Cornwall Police and Cime Commissioner's (PCC's) Office. The PCC oversees the Governance of Policing in Devon and Cornwall. He is here to give us an overview of the present Policing situation in Devon and Cornwall, answer your questions and take your views back to the PCC's Office.
_______________________________________________________________________
September 25th Karen Deveraj The Work of the Citizens Advice Bureau
Operations Manager, CAB, Exeter
Citizens Advice Exeter offers free, confidential, impartial and independent advice. Every local Citizens Advice is a registered charity reliant on volunteers. We help solve client’s problems which are central to their lives, including debt and consumer issues, benefits, housing, legal matters, employment, and immigration.
Citizens Advice Exeter has been at work supporting the residents of Exeter for 70 years. We have over 100 volunteers who help clients resolve a range of issues. Clients are able to access a range of self-help information and resources and free, supported internet and telephone access, from our office in Dix’s Field, every weekday. Our services are also accessible via telephone and digital channels. Advice is also available every day, via the national Citizens Advice website (www.citizensadvice.org.uk) where clients can access advice via web chat and an extensive range of open-access self-help resources covering all advice needs.
The national Citizens Advice service is truly unique, powered by nearly 30,000 staff and volunteers who help millions of people find a way forward. Whether dealing with a single issue or a complex set of problems that require more specialist support, this year we provided advice, support or information to 2.6 million people per year.
Karen has been working at Citizens Advice Exeter for over 20 years. She started as a volunteer adviser but then progressed on to a paid role as a supervisor, then to a team leader and now Operations Manager. She has worked in all sorts of roles, with a range of teams and seen many and varied issues!
_______________________________________________________________________
October 2nd Professor Sir Steve Smith The Role of the University in the Region
Vice-Chancellor, University of Exeter
Professor Sir Steve Smith has been Vice-Chancellor and Chief Executive of the University of Exeter since October 2002 and has overseen an exceptional growth in the University, with student numbers rising from 13,500 in 2005 to over 23,000 in 2018, and with students coming from more than 130 different countries. At the same time he has played a leading role in establishing and supporting cutting-edge research centres such as the Living Systems Institute and world-renowned research into areas such as diabetes, mood disorders, and technologies to deal with climate change.
He was previously Senior Pro Vice-Chancellor (Academic Affairs) and Professor of International Politics at the University of Wales, Aberystwyth, as well as Head of the Department of International Politics, and Director of the Centre for Public Choice Studies at the University of East Anglia.
Sir Steve is a graduate of the University of Southampton and holds a BSc in Politics and International Studies, an MSc in International Studies and a PhD in International Relations.
He has written or edited 17 books, published well over 100 academic papers and has given over 170 academic presentations in 22 countries. From June 2007 until May 2010, he led for higher education on the Prime Minister’s National Council of Excellence in Education, which provided advice to Government about strategy and measures to achieve world-class education performance for all children and young people. He was also a member of the Institute for Public Policy Research's Commission on the Future of Higher Education.
Sir Steve was knighted in the 2011 Queen's Birthday Honours for services to higher education locally and nationally. In 2019, Sir Steve was made a Freeman of the City of Exeter for his extraordinary contribution to Exeter and the local community.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 9th Sue Knox General Lawrence and His Tower
General Stringer Lawrence became known as the “Father of the Indian Army”. While in India, he made friends with Robert Palk. He spent much of his retirement at Haldon House, home of the Palk family, and in 1788 Palk built the Haldon Belvedere in memory of his friend.
Sue is a retired doctor having spent most of her career working at the RD&E.
In retirement she became a Red Coat Guide for the City of Exeter for 14 years.
Sue is a Trustee of the Stringer Lawrence Memorial Trust which owns the Haldon Belvedere.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 16th John Davidson Vesuvius: Present, past and future. The anatomy of an active volcano.
Vesuvius is probably best known for the destruction of Pompeii and Herculaneum, but it has erupted over 50 times since AD79. Two million people live in the immediate vicinity, in the shadow of this active and potentially dangerous volcano. This talk will look at why there are active volcanoes around the Bay of Naples today, and the effects of historic volcanic events, before considering the threat of future eruptions. The talk will conclude by looking at the various strategies that are being developed to protect residents, tourists and property from volcanic hazards in the Naples region.
John Davidson is an active geographer and a member of the Exeter Forum. He taught geography, geology and world development at Exeter School until 2018, and was a member of the school’s senior management team. John has travelled extensively studying physical geography and writing articles on landscapes and natural hazards. He is a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society and a member of the Geographical Association.
______________________________________________________________________
October 23rd David Oates Life Round the Green: A Cambridgeshire Village in the 1890s
David's talk uses a selection from the Oates Collection of contemporary photographs of his home village of Histon, near Cambridge, to re-create the life, people and activities at its heart during the period 1870 to 1920. This talk was a special address given as part of the village Feast Week celebrations in July 2018 for the Histon and Impington Archaeology Group which David founded in 2016 and of which he is President.
After a working life spent lecturing in Mathematics at the University of Exeter, David now follows a range of other interests and is in demand as a speaker on topics including Heraldry, Stamps, Archaeology, Local History and the Polish city of Gdańsk. He is a regular speaker at the Exeter Forum and has been Chairman of the Forum since May 2018.
_______________________________________________________________________
October 30th Rev Andrew Johnson A History of Coloured Glass and How it is Made
Andrew is an Associate Member of the British Society of Master Glass Painters. He has been working in the medium for over forty years, having been trained at Bideford & Swansea art schools, specialising in Architectural Stained Glass.
Andrew set up an independent stained glass studio in 1980, and has worked on Cathedrals, Minsters, parish churches and country houses. Although a large part of his work can be seen in ecclesiastic buildings, he also enjoys working in secular situations, including private houses.
Andrew is an ordained self supporting Priest, and works on the principles laid down by St. Benedict, that to work with your hands is to praise God at all times.
Andrew is committed to seeing that glass is cared for, the original purpose of the glass being conserved and renewed, to be passed on to future generations to enjoy.
______________________________________________________________________